Cut Into the Bank: a Green-and-Lime Court with a Name in the Key

The garden fell away into a bank at one end. Rather than lose that width to the slope, the bank was cut back square and faced, and the pad laid tight against it. The court uses the full width of the plot.

Forest Green across the field, Lime Green in the key. The two greens sit close enough together that the court reads as one surface with a lighter panel in it. Markings are white: the arc, the free-throw circle, the key outline and the lane hashes.

Across the key is a name, scripted in white. Markings are painted on top of the tile rather than built out of it, so the shape is not limited to whole tiles. Curves and joined letters are possible, which is what makes a signature work.

Black ramp edging runs the full perimeter, so the step down onto the earth is finished on all four sides. The hoop is planted in the ground beside the baseline with the board reaching over the tile. That is the usual arrangement on a garden court: the pole takes up no playing surface.